big and boring.

This post serves a purpose no greater than a way to connect with my bloggy friends.  I have very little sewing related to share, but figured I might say hello anyway. :)

I knew there was a good reason part of me feared the end of pregnancy.

I'm huge.

Here, I'll show you a picture from camping a week or so ago.

You'll never guess what happened to us while we were camping.  

I've whined about this before, but we got attacked by squirrels while we were camping.  

THIS IS THE SEVENTH TIME!!!

The car is still being worked on, going through insurance takes longer, but at least it's covered.

It cut our little camping adventure short by a day, which was a big bummer, but thankfully, Jay's parents were there to rescue us, and drive us back down the mountain (they had come up to visit for the day).

*sigh*

(I told you I was huge - and no, Steiger wasn't in to the family picture)

In happy news --

- I got the "If it's a boy" quilt basted, and hope to quilt tonight.

- I have two fabric packages coming in the mail this week -- Secret Garden from Sew Love Fabrics (I pre-ordered it), and some Sophie from Burgundy Buttons.  I have been in love with this particular print for quite some time... (and have an entire girly room built around it in my mind).

- I've been swimming almost every day... it feels so good on this belly, and I'm hoping it will keep me in some form of shape for labor. :)

- I've also been napping.  Napping is so sweet. :)

- My friend Amanda is coming to sew with me...yes, the Farmer's wife chica.

Anyway, not much substance here, but I miss everyone. :)

♥, Tracey

Miss Molly's Petals quilt

Other than cooking a baby -- this was a big project for me this summer.

My niece Molly was moving in to her big girl bed, and my brother and sister-in-law hired me to make her quilt.

It is a double size, but has a long drop, so the quilt ended up measuring queen size in the end, and was definitely the biggest quilt I've ever done myself.

So big, in fact, it was hard to get a good picture.

The fabrics are all from Riley Blake (Sweet Divinity and Quite Contrary), so I decided to enter it in to the Riley Blake contest... (I wasn't chosen as a finalist, but my friend Amanda was... so vote for her!)

The pattern is Camille's Marmalade.

I resized things a bit so that it would fit her bed perfectly.  

And it does. 

Because my sister-in-law wanted a scrappy look (rather than using a consistent solid like in the original pattern), each piece had to be carefully planned in conjunction with all the others.

I quilted it at my friend Amanda's house (she has a sit-down long arm) with an all over loopy design.

I am so happy to say that they love it.  ♥

WIP Wednesday - folding fabric

I have a real problem when it comes to getting my laundry off the couch and in to whichever drawer or cabinet it may belong to.  Normally, it sits for quite some time until I begrudgingly fold them, and hope that I can beg Jay to put them away for me.  It all goes back to my childhood... From the time I was eight years old, I did virtually all the folding for my family, until I left for college.  If you know anything about high school boys, you know... that's a lot of clothes.

Anyway.

The kind of folding I've been working on this week isn't that kind.

I have stored my fabric in plastic totes.  The trouble with those plastic totes is that, in order to not have to climb in to the closet to get them... I leave them out.  Then, digging through all the fabric to find what I'm looking for... well, that wasn't always easy either.  So after promising my husband over and over that the fabric all over the house situation could be improved, he went and picked up a new (to me) hutch from my mom's storage shed.

And I've got four totes down, with a couple more to go.  

Here it is...

On the top I put my "blenders" -- sorted pretty much by color.  The top shelves have the 1/2 yards (or whatever is cut to the WOF), the bottom shelf has my neutrals, solids, and fat quarter size pieces (far right are my French General pieces too).

I'm making "mini bolts" for the bottom shelves.

I started earlier today, after the UPS man brought my comic book boards (yes, I do like French General).

And then we went swimming (because swimming, while pregnant, feels SO good I can't even say)...

So these neutrals are still waiting for me.

-----------

In other news...

32 weeks tomorrow.

Linking to Lee's  

Speaking of Lee -- She has entered a beautiful fabric in a contest... You should go vote for her here.  

This is her fabric swatch... so cute methinks.

Speaking of contests... I entered my niece's quilt in Riley Blake's "Cruisin'" contest... You can see it here, and vote for me in a couple days, should you be so moved. :)

(I'll do a full post then, but it really turned out cute).

I made a cream pie last week.

and put strawberries on it.

Thank you for all the love on maybe baby boy's quilt  (and the belly too).  I really need to find me some energy to get that one, and this one all finished!  Steiger decided to break his water at 38 weeks... which gives me 6 weeks to go!  Eeps!

maybe baby boy's quilt top (and belly thoughts/laughs)

I got it done!  (and I really do have Rapunzel to thank... Mommy's five or more potty trips/night mean Mommy needs a nap when Steiger is napping)

Now I need to get myself to JoAnn's, coupon in hand, and buy more batting.  I had 24 yards that are now gone. I *might* have some scraps big enough to finish it though, but I'm pretty sure I used all the baby size ones... (plus I need batting for baby's first quilt)

I'm really glad I cut it up (you can see how it looked before in that link), but I think I'm going to leave the blocks uncut for Steiger's new bed quilt.  Thank you again to Kelly for the inspiration and cutting dimensions. :)

I decided to add a small border in a Steely blue Moda Crossweave... just because I thought it was pretty, and I didn't want the girl quilt to be bigger than the boy quilt.

-----------------

And now for a few belly thoughts -- 

It has started again.  When I was pregnant with Steiger, I got the comments, 

"Oh, you must be due any day now."  I started lying to people and saying, "yep," after I saw the horrified faces when I replied that I still had a couple months to go.

I even got congratulated on twins AT A BABY STORE OF ALL PLACES!!!

So far, it's the Grandmas (Great-Grandmas for the babies) who have been making the comments...

My own Grandma - "Well I just don't know how you're going to keep growing for two more months; you are huge already."

The Grandma-in-law (while we were getting pics) - "Just don't let her turn sideways..."

still in my jammies this morning

:)

My favorite comments were from when I was pregnant with Steiger, and I was picking up some Chinese takeout for Jay...

(this must be read with a Chinese accent)

"Oh, you must be ready to have baby very soon."

"No, not until April."

"Oh... twins."

"No, just one."

"Well I think Daddy is a very big man then."

:)

(really, I think I'm just short, and baby has nowhere to go but out -- thankfully though, I don't get baby under my ribs; that doesn't sound comfortable)

---------------------

It felt good to get the quilt top done for (maybe) Baby Boy.  I'm doing my best to prepare for baby's arrival, but unlike with Steiger, there is no room to get ready (baby will be with us and then Steiger and baby will share a room until we move), and things like that.  The pregnancy has been going quite well (for which I'm grateful)... but making this quilt top was kind of emotional for me.  I know it is partially because it is coinciding with the stage in pregnancy where daily life starts to get harder, but I also think it's starting to become more real to me that we're having another baby.  I've been increasingly aware that my Steiger is getting bigger, and life for us will be changing, but also that I will be the one having this baby!  I vacillate between feeling indifferent, excited, and terrified (tell me that's normal).

I am thankful because I have a wonderful midwife I'm working with this time... someone who understands that preparing to have a baby, especially with a hopeful VBAC, involves more than collecting urine, weighing you, and measuring the tummy.  I am grateful she will be on my side when the time comes for baby to come... but I am still pretty nervous about the whole thing.  We previous c-section mamas have different things to navigate while preparing for baby's arrival, especially while living in an area where all the local hospitals "ban" babies from coming out of a vagina.  Labor involves so many unknowns at this point, including where we will be (hospital isn't the friendliest place with aforementioned ban).

This afternoon I'm off to a prenatal yoga class... because Steiger's difficulty with coming out had to do with his position, this will help me move to get that baby turned the right way.  I'm looking forward to everything about it except for the drive (remember, we live out in farm land.).  

I'm feeling quite introspective... anyway...and just praying for a healthy baby with, hopefully, a complication free entry in to the world.  God willing...

Finally inspired - for a baby boy

Two nights ago, during potty trip number three or four, while I lay awake waiting for this little one to settle in (I've got a wiggler in there), I was suddenly inspired for how to make the quilt if this baby is a boy (as Daddy strongly believes).

I had an idea a while back, but I wasn't quite settled on it... and Steiger really liked the little trains and helicopters, so I was going to make a quilt for him.  My intention was to then make two matching quilts, but then if this baby is a girl, Steiger would have two matching quilts... so I procrastinated.

And I'm glad I did.

I started with the little dogs from Aneela's Pips (I love those little doggies), and added fabric from there in a palette of aqua, steel blue, gray, red, and chocolate brown.



Kelly provided the motivation and measurements, and I got the blocks done last night and today (Steiger has taken a liking to the movie Tangled which I may or may not have taken advantage of this morning)...

I really like them.



Now you just need to talk me in to cutting them up!



That definitely was a productive middle of the night potty break.